To the Editor:

On Friday, July 4th, Underground Railroad Education Center at 194 Livingston Avenue in Albany will hold its annual Independence Day program marking the end of slavery in the state of New York and the day of our National Independence.

Using Frederick Douglass’s “What to the Slave Is Your Fourth of July?” speech of 1852 as a framework, the program will offer challenges to our thinking about our national identity.

This year, the featured program will be a presentation from Lavada Nahon, the interpreter of African-American history for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation-Bureau of Historic Sites. She will talk on “New York State’s Investment in the Institution of Enslavement and its Legacy Today.”

Lavada has a wealth of experience interpreting the lives of free and enslaved African Americans across the mid-Atlantic region, with an emphasis on the work of enslaved cooks in the homes of the elite class. Her expertise around cooking and dining spans the 17th to 19th centuries and cuts across cultures, encompassing Dutch, British, French and African traditions.

New York State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said, “Lavada’s immense experience is instrumental to our agency’s goal of developing interpretative programs and displays that continue to educate and connect visitors to the past while highlighting untold stories across all ethnic and social backgrounds.”

Also part of the program, Nell Stokes, longtime community activist and supporter of the Underground Railroad Education Center will share her poetry. Maggie D’Aversa, weaving artist, will share her storytelling coverlet. Lillie McLaughlin and Pastors Miriam and Glen will present a $7,500 donation from First Presbyterian Church congregation members for UREC’s Interpretive Center.

The program will run from 11 a.m. to noon and be followed by a lunch offering. Attendees are asked to bring a salad or dessert to share and serving utensils. Participants are also asked to bring their own chairs.  Parking is available on the street along Livingston Avenue but also along the UREC properties along 99 and 97 Third Street.

The event is free and open to the public.

Further information can be found at undergroundrailroadhistory.org or by calling 518-621-7793. Underground Railroad Education Center is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to research and preserve the local and national history of the Underground Railroad movement, its international connections, and its legacy to today’s social justice issues, thereby empowering people of all ages to be agents of change toward an equitable and just society.

Paul Stewart

Underground Railroad

Education Center

Albany